Trump's immigration agenda faces serious legal hurdles, no matter who is homeland security secretaryTrump's immigration agenda faces serious legal hurdles, no matter who is homeland security secretary
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-immigration-agenda-faces-legal-hurdles-matter-homeland/story?id=62250256
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Trump's immigration agenda faces serious legal hurdles, no matter who is homeland security secretary
Here's what to know about the border and immigration debate.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he departs the White House in Washington, D.C, April 5, 2019.
(Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images) President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he departs the White House in Washington, D.C, April 5, 2019.
By Anne Flaherty and Quinn Owen Apr 8, 2019 4:49 PM
To hear President Donald Trump tell it, reducing migration into the U.S. is all about political will.
(MORE: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigns )
In recent days, he's called for someone "tougher" to oversee deportations and forced out Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen after clashing with her in private meetings and phone calls. He also says it's time that Congress wipe out the U.S. asylum system.
(MORE: Trump pulls ICE director nominee amid threats to close border over illegal immigration )
President Donald Trump greets Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen after he arrived at Naval Air Facility El Centro, in El Centro, Calif., Friday April 5, 2019.
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP) President Donald Trump greets Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen after he arrived at Naval Air Facility El Centro, in El Centro, Calif., Friday April 5, 2019.
"They have to get rid of catch and release, chain migration, visa lottery," Trump told reporters last week. "They have to get rid of the whole asylum system because it doesn’t work. And, frankly, we should get rid of judges. You can't have a court case every time somebody steps their foot on our ground."
But according to several legal experts interviewed by ABC News, this to-do list on immigration is hugely unrealistic. The bulk of his agenda requires congressional action. And even then, a court could still block such laws from taking effect if the judge believe it violates a person’s rights.
That means it’s unlikely the next head of Homeland Security will be able to move much faster than Nielsen.
“She got roundly criticized by the left for going too far, and roundly criticized by immigration hawks by not going far enough,” said Steve Yale-Loehr, who teaches immigration law at Cornell Law School.
“I don’t wish that job on anybody,” he said.
Here's what to know about immigration and the border:
The president can’t blow up the asylum system unilaterally
Under U.S. and international law, people have the right to approach the border and claim asylum. To change that, Trump would need to do two things: convince Congress to change the law and withdraw from an international agreement that refugees cannot be returned to a country where they would be unsafe.
Undocumented migrants wait for asylum hearings outside of the port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico, June 18, 2018.
(Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) Undocumented migrants wait for asylum hearings outside of the port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico, June 18, 2018.
And what about revamping visa lotteries and other rules that Trump derides as “chain migration”?
“Not without getting Congress to rewrite immigration law that’s been on the books for 30 years,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy analyst with the American Immigration Council.
A wholesale rewrite of U.S. asylum laws is considered especially unlikely with Democrats in control of the House and Republicans divided on how far to go on immigration.
That leaves Trump with the legal reality that once people reach U.S. territory and make an asylum claim, that person has a right to run their claim past an immigration judge.
Trump has few options to detain families
Trump, like President Barack Obama, wanted the power to detain families who arrive at the border without documentation while their cases wind through court –- a process that could take months or years. But the federal courts have repeatedly said no, citing a previous court settlement not to detain children for longer than 20 days.
Trump tried to get around this mandate with “zero tolerance,” a policy that detained the adult and put the child in government custody. But he was forced to backtrack amid a public outcry and federal court ruling ordering that the families be reunited.
(MORE: 'Zero-tolerance' approach not very effective, experts say)